Augmented reality (AR), and synonymously described as augmented vision, has been billed as one of the next big waves of technology advancement. For several years, many companies ranging from Yelp to Layar, from Wikitude to Blippar, have commercialized AR applications on handheld portable devices. For example, Yelp's Monocle leverages a smart phone's gyroscope and GPS signaling mechanisms in order to augment a user's field of view (FOV) with nearby restaurant information.
The concept of AR has extended to head-mounted displays (HMD). While the introduction of Google Glass in 2013 has recently generated mass-market interest, headworn AR devices have actually been researched and developed for decades. Prior to Google, headworn AR companies such as Lumus, Microvision, and Vuzix, had already begun to commercialize its systems, often targeting niche, industry-focused applications, specifically targeting military, medical, and corporate applications. However, recently, consumer-oriented applications, like receiving email alerts within one's FOV, have been discussed and deployed in the marketplace.
With AR head-mounted display systems becoming smaller, sleeker, and less ostentatious, it is estimated that AR head-mounted systems will “cross the chasm” over the next several years. Accordingly, there has been continued development towards integrating one or more existing technologies into AR systems, ranging from image and gestural recognition, voice identification, position and orientation tracking, ad hoc network forming, social networking, and personalized content delivery.
Moreover, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/153,032 titled “Method, System and Apparatus for Adapting the Functionalities of a Connected Object Associated with a User ID,” filed on Jan. 11, 2014 (and having the same first named inventor as the present application), a connected object can be a proxy for a user or it can configure in accordance with a user profile.
All the patents, patent applications, standards and published documents mentioned in this patent application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Furthermore, where a definition or use of a term in a document that is incorporated by reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.